Emergency train-stop.



P GONNI-FP & P. A. PIERCE. EMERGENCY TRAIN STOP.

AJPPLIUATIOR FILED JAN. 31, 1908- 903,843. Patented Nov. 17,1908.

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P. GONNIFF .& F.

A. PIERCE.

EMERGENCY TRAIN STOP.

Wit" emu APPLICATION FILED JAN. 31, 1908.

Patented N0v.'17, 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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II F. I-m llll-lllh IIIII UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

PHILIP CONNIFF AND FRANKLIN A. PIERCE, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

EMERGENCY TRAIN-STOP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 17, 1908.

Application filed January 31, 1908. Serial No. 113,651.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that We, PHILIP CONNLFF and FRANKLIN A. PIERCE, citizens of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Emergency Train- Stops, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an emergency or service train stop for use in any brake system operating on the automatic or straight air brake principle inaccordance with what is known as the WVestinghouse, New York, or any other system of air actuated brakes.

The invention has for one of its objects to improve and simplify the construction and operation of devices of this character so as to be comparatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture, readily applied to an engine or car, and highly eflicient in service.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a valve operating mechanism in the nature of an attachment to be readily installed and so designed as to permit the rapid escape of the air from the train pipe when the trigger of the mechanism is tripped, the said mechanism including a suddenly acting element arranged to positively unseat the valve from the tripping of the trigger.

Another object of the invention is the employment of an audible signal, such as a whistle sounded by the issuing fluid when the train pipe is open, so as to inform the engineer that the emergency device has been tripped and the engine brought to a stop because of some danger ahead.

A still further object is to provide a weighted valve actuating element which is held in set position by a trigger and adapted to strike the valve with a blow to insure the unseating thereof when the trigger is tripped.

As a further object, the invention aims to so arrange the trigger that it will automatic ally re-set when the engineer restores the valve-opening element while the trigger and the same element mutually co-act to hold each other in set position.

With these objects in view and others, as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises the various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be more fully described hereinafter and set forth with particularity in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one of the embodiments of the invention, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the front portion of a locomotive equipped with the train stopping device. Figs. 2 and 3 are enlarged sectional views of the air outlet valve in its closed and open positions, re-

spectively, with its operating mechanism and the whistle, certain parts being shown in elevation. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional View of the lower portion of the device illustrating the operation of the trigger.

Similar reference characters are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

In the present instance, we have elected to illustrate the emergency stopping device applied to a locomotive and associated with the air brake system so as to permit the brakes to be set by reduction in train pipe pressure under any emergency condition, but it is to be understood that the device is not necessarily limited to this manner of use.

Referring to the drawing, A designates the front portion of a locomotive equipped with the usual train pipe 1 of the air brake system. The stopping device designated generally by B, is mounted on a suitable part of the locomotive, as for instance the pilot. The device B comprises a tubular support 2 that is mounted in a vertical position on the cross beam 3 of the pilot, and supported on the upper end of the part 2 is a valve casing 4; that is connected by a pipe 5 with the train pipe 1, the valve casing being disposed above the cross-beam 8 and inclosed in a housing 6.

Arranged within the casing 4 is a bushing 7 formed with a chamber 8 in which is contained a valve 9 adapted to engage the seat 10 during normal conditions, and the bushing is provided with an opening 11 whereby the pipe 5 communicates with the chamber 8, so that when the valve 9 is in closed position, the normal train pipe pressure will be maintained in the chamber 8. In the bushing is threaded a plug 12 that is provided with a hollow boss 13 that forms a guide in which the stem 14: of the valve slides and positioned between the boss 18 and under side of the valve 9 is a helical spring that serves to maintain the valve seated. The top of the valve casing is closed by a cap 15 that is formed with a boss 16 that has a peripheral groove 17 that communicates with the space within the casing above the bushing 7 through one or more ports 18. By shaping the boss 16 in this manner, a disk 19 is formed at the upper end thereof and surrounding this disk is a sleeve 20 secured in position on the boss by threads 21. The internal diameter of the sleeve or annulus 20 is slightly larger than the diameter of the disk 19 so as to provide an annular air outlet 22. Positioned over the outlet 22 is a hollow whistle 2% closed at its upper end and open at its lower end, the edge of the whistle being beveled at 23, Fig. 2, so as to present a sharp edge to the air issuing from the outlet 22 and thus cause a warning sound to be produced. In case the outlet 22 is insufficient to permit a rapid escape of air, the casing may be provided with additional outlet openings 25.

The mechanism for unseating the valve consists of a rod 26 housed within the tubular support 2, a rod 27 extending into the valve casing through the bore 28 in the cap 15', and on the inner end of the said rod are cross-heads 29 and 30 disposed respectively below and above the bushing 7, and these cross-heads are connected by short rods 31 passing through the bushing. Projecting downwardly from the upper crosshead 30 is an adjustable member or lug 32 arranged in alinement with the valve 9 so as to engage the same to remove it from the valve seat when the train-stopping device is operated. When the parts are in normal position, as shown in Fig. 2, the lug 32 is slightly separated from the valve. In the present instance, the power for actuating the valveopening mechanism is derived from a spring 33 and a weight 34, the latter being secured on the upper end of the rod 27 while the spring is interposed between the upper cross-head 30 in the under side of the cap 15. The rod 27 also serves as a support for the whistle 2 1, and when the valve-opening mechanism is released, the whistle 24 is brought into cooperative relation with the outlet 22 and the valve is given an impact and suddenly opened so as to permit the air to escape from the train pipe, thus setting the brakes of the train.

The operation of the valve-opening element is controlled by a trigger 35 in the form of a lever that is supported on the lower end of the tubular housing 2 in such position that it can be tripped by suitable devices arranged along the track. Threaded on the lower end of the part 2 is a supporting member 36 that has depending lugs 37 between which is disposed the upper end of the trigger 35, which latter swings on a pivot 38 mounted in the said lugs. The lower end of the rod 26 extends through the member 36 and normally rests on the end of the trigger, whlch latter is provided with a depression or socket 39 so as to recelve the extremity of the rod for the purpose of hold- When the trigger is thus moved, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4:, the lower end of the rod 26 engages in the recess 10 in the upper end of the trigger so that the latter will be held in the inclined position inclicated by dotted lines. To limit the movement of the trigger when it is tripped, the member 36 is provided with stops 41 that carry rubber or other buiiers 42 against which the trigger strikes when thrown in either direction.

To reset the device, the casing or housing 6 has its cover 43 opened and the engineer grasps the weight 34 and pulls upwardly thereon so as to permit the trigger to gravitate to central position, and the valve 9 to close for holding the pressure in the train pipe when such pressure is reestablished. As soon as the trigger assumes its normal position, the engineer releases the weight 34, whereupon the lower end of the rod 26 engages in the depression 29 of the trigger for holding the parts set. The cover 34: of the housing is then closed so as to protectthe device. The housin 6 may be provided with openings 14 to acilitate the ready escape of air and to permit the sound ofthe whistle to be more readily heard.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying draw.- ings, the advantages of the construction and of the method of operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, and while we have described the principle of operation of the invention, together with the apparatus which we now consider to be' the best embodiment thereof, we desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is merely illustrative, and that such changesmay be made when desired as are within the scope of the claims.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim is:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a valve controlling an air brake system, means for opening the valve, a swinging trigger device for holding the said means set, a support for the trigger, and buffers on the support at opposite sides of the trigger.

2. In an apparatus of the class described,

the combination of a normally closed valve, a housing for the valve, an element in the housing and extending out of the bottom thereof and normally set to open the valve, and a trigger device controlling said element and arranged to engage the portion thereof extending out of the housing.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a normally closed valve, a weighted element arranged to open the valve, an adjustable member on the element for engaging the valve to move the same open by the portion of the element, and a trigger device for holding the said element in set position.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a valve for controlling the escape of fluid from a train pipe, a casing for the valve, a member extending out of the casing and movable simultaneously with the opening of the valve and a signal device mounted on the member and controlled by the escaping fluid.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a valve, means arranged to strike the valve a blow for actuating the same under emergency conditions, and a signal device actuated simultaneously with the valve.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of an emergency train-stopping device including a movable member, with an audible signal device mounted on and movable with the member and arranged to be sounded when the stopping device is operated.

7 In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a valve controlling an air brake system, an emergency device for opening the valve, and a whistle mounted to move during the opening of the valve so as to be sounded by the fluid discharged by the valve.

8. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a valve for controlling the train pipe of an air brake system, a weighted element tending to open the valve, and a trigger on which the element normally rests and arranged to be held in set or unset position by the element.

9. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a valve, a seat therefor, a guide for the valve, a spring disposed between the guide and valve for holding the latter seated, a suddenly-acting device normally held away from the valve for opening the latter by a blow, means for weighting the device, and a trigger mounted to swing to opposite sides of its normally central position and arranged to hold the device away from the valve against the influence of the said weighting means.

10. In an apparatus of the class described, a valve, means for yieldingly holding the valve closed, an element arranged to strike the valve for unseating the same, and a pivoted trigger arranged when in set position to hold the said element set.

11. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a valve, a spring for holding the valve on its seat, an element arrangedto open the valve in opposition to the spring, means for weighting the element, a trigger device for holding the element in set position, and an audible signal rendered operative by the action of the said element.

12. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a valve, a weighted element movable into contact with the valve for opening the same and arranged to be reset by hand, a trigger normally holding the element in set position and on which the latter is adapted to removably rest, and means for mounting the trigger'to gravitate to set position upon manually set-ting the said element.

13. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a casing, a normally closed valve therein, a weighted element arranged to open the valve, a pivoted trigger disposed below the element and arranged to be held in set position by the element when the latter is set, and a whistle sounded by the fluid escaping from the casing.

14. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a casing provided with an outlet, a valve in the casing, a longitudinally movable element arranged to open the valve, a whistle mounted on the element in cooperative relation to the element, a spring for holding the valve closed, means on the element for causing the same to positively open the valve by imparting a blow thereto, and a trigger device mounted to reset by gravity and normally holding the said element in set position.

15. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a support, a valve casing thereon, a bushing in the casing, a chamber in the bushing, means for connecting the chamber with the source of fluid under pressure, a valve normally closing the chamber, a longitudinally movable element for opening the valve, a pivoted trigger mounted to engage the lower end of the element for holding the latter set and arranged to be held in set position by the element, a signal device on the element, and means for discharging fluid against the element upon the opening of the valve, said means comprising ports leading out of the casing, and an annular outlet communicating with the ports.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

PHILIP CONNIFF. FRANKLIN A. PIERCE.

lVitnesses Jornv L. FLETCHER, C. BRADWAY. 

